


between a rock

by GreenRoyale, myownremorse



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Avengers - Freeform, BAMF Natasha Romanov, Banter, Clint Barton & Natasha Romanov Friendship, Loki and Nat is not a relationship, Loki's bargain, Post-Avengers (2012)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-08
Updated: 2019-06-08
Packaged: 2020-04-12 14:53:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,913
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19134334
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GreenRoyale/pseuds/GreenRoyale, https://archiveofourown.org/users/myownremorse/pseuds/myownremorse
Summary: Natasha and Loki get stuck in an elevator in Stark Tower after the battle of New York. She has the scepter. He's bound and gagged. But is that enough to stop the god? How long will the two last before one of them caves?





	between a rock

“You’ve gotta be kidding me.”

Natasha stood, scepter in hand as she jammed her finger into the button on the panel in front of her. The elevator had stopped, which wouldn’t ordinarily be an issue if she was alone in the elevator. Or if she had been stuck in the elevator with  _ anyone  _ else. But she wasn’t. She’d become incredibly aware of the looming figure of Loki behind her. Why the hell had she volunteered for this?

The short redhead turned to look up at him, careful to hold the scepter out of reach as she did so. “If this is some sort of trick, if you’re doing this to mess with me,” her eyes hardened, “Cut it out. I’m not in the mood for games. And you shouldn’t be either.” Natasha’s face shifted and she smiled proudly, turning back to face the front. “You just lost.” 

As she speaks, Loki just rolled his eyes royally at her. He shifted slightly, opening his hands in between them both as if to show off the cuffs on his wrists. There wasn't much he could explain with the muzzle on after all.

It didn’t quite make sense to her. Those cuffs on his hands, and the muzzle over his mouth… She’d assumed they were to keep him from using his powers, but she’d never actually gotten any confirmation from Thor that that’s what they would do. She had just assumed. Her eyes narrowed for a moment, and she turned around once more. Reaching forward, she pressed the button in the middle of the muzzle and held her hand out as it fell forward into her palm, and she pulled it away. “This isn’t you, right?”

When she released the muzzle from his mouth, he heaved a sigh of relief. "Well, I'm flattered to know that you think I would be the cause of so much inconvenience. But no, why would I entrap myself in a tiny metal box with the likes of you?"

“Why  _ wouldn’t  _ you?” Natasha held the muzzle in her hand and took a step away from him, leaning on the opposite side of the elevator wall as she held the scepter close to her body between herself and an arm, transferring the tiny piece of metal to her hand as she reached into her pocket, fishing for her phone. It hadn’t been the most tactically sound move, keeping the god in her keep while she held the scepter, in the tiny little metal box, but Tony was confident in the security of the tower, and they only had so many places they could go without her clearance. So she agreed. But no one had thought about  _ this.  _

She pressed a few buttons, pulling up Tony’s contact, but before she could call his number, a notification flashed across her screen showing that she was out of range. “Goddamnit..”

Loki simply watched her. There was plenty of time and opportunity for him to just snatch the scepter and whatnot, but it wasn't likely. Why? He just didn't feel like it. "Is it always so 

stifling in this place? I've travelled in many metal boxes that your petty people seem to travel in from day to day. Ones that fly, ones that go up and down, ones that take you from one place to another. Does it not seem suffocating to always be in a box?"

“Does it not get dizzying to overthink everything?” She stared at her phone for a moment more before shaking her head and stuffing it back into her pocket. This wasn’t going to be fixed anytime soon. 

"Is there not a button you can press on that panel that could alert someone that we are stuck here against each other's will?" Loki asks instead, staring pointedly at the panel. This is going to be a long wait.

Now it was Natasha’s turn to roll her eyes. “You’re so dramatic.” There was the fire alarm button, but she knew that it would likely set off the rest of the alarms, and in a building like this, it would take them ages to find the two, not to mention how loud and annoying those sirens would be. But they would be better than having to listen to him. She’d save it for if things got truly terrible. “There’s the fire alarm, but we shouldn’t be in here that long.”

"And who's coming to save me?" He asks, looking blankly to her and then grinning when she glares back at him. "Oh. Of course, I meant to say, who's coming to save us."

What she wouldn’t give to have just taken the other elevator with Steve and the Tesseract… Natasha took in a long breath and just stared at him blankly. She knew he was only saying these things to get under her skin. He seemed to enjoy that, even though she’d only known him for a few days. He was surprisingly good at it too, especially for only having known her just as long. Perhaps it was because of talking to Clint. He’d given Loki the edge up on her. But she’d done an okay job of analyzing him if she did say so herself. Perhaps that was why he enjoyed making her angry. It was just to cover the fact that she had him pegged perfectly.

“I don’t know what you mean by ‘saving’ because as soon as we get out of here, you’re being given to your brother and from what he’s been saying, it doesn’t sound like you have an all too desirable outcome waiting for you where you two are going.”

"Oh please, anything but  _ this _ ," he said, speaking with his eyes wide and that obvious sarcasm in his voice that could easily earn a jab to the face had it not been Loki. He grinned as he looked back at her, taking a step back and leaning into the closest elevator wall.

He took a glance around the metal box, just three walls with a door that seemed virtually impossible to open without the right keys. Or whatever it is Stark would use to open things and doors. Loki took a look above him, his mind ever moving. One glance at his eyes and it was not difficult at all to tell that there were gears behind them that never seemed to stop moving.

"We are moving down a shaft, are we not?" He asks.

“Well…” Her brow furrowed in confusion. “Yea. That’s how an elevator works.” Did they not have those where he was from? Probably not. 

"What are the chances of your dying in the event this contraption falls off its arrested state?" He asks, face just as cold as he had been known to be.

That caused Natasha to go quiet for a moment. She’d been known for her intimidating and chilling demeanor when needed, but the way he delivered the question with such nonchalance made her stop in her tracks. “Anything that happens in this elevator will also happen to you, Loki. You’d do well to remember that.” Elevators usually did not bother Natasha. The idea of falling on the other hand, she was not as big a fan of.

Loki merely smirked at her answer. No, it was more of a threat if anything. All he did was ask a question. It had been true the whole time. Humans were just petty and mortals were always so afraid of dying. Their lives were so small and insignificant when compared to the long life an Asgardian would have.

He raised his hands a little in an unspoken surrender, then shifted and went to sit down on the floor of the elevator. Thank Valhalla that this elevator isn't as tiny as the ones he had seen in those other places, it could be bigger though. 

When he sat, she just shook her head and watched, repositioning the scepter to be as far away from him as possible. She didn’t like the idea of the two of them in such a small space with such a powerful object, but he didn’t seem to be making any moves. Maybe this hadn’t been his play. Regardless, she was not about to let her guard down. Even sitting, he almost made up half of her height. It was best if she stayed standing. 

The silence fell between them, and it stayed there for a long while. She didn’t have much to say to him, and she assumed that the less she spoke, the less ammunition he got to get under her skin. It wasn’t that she had absolutely nothing to say to him. She could think of plenty of things: how his plan had failed, how she had outsmarted him in the interrogation, how she had beaten his mind control and gotten her friend back...the list was endless. But as they sat there, she really had no desire to even speak to him.

"Why are you here, Agent Romanoff?" Loki finally was the one who broke the silence.

It was a weird way to break the tension, but after a moment of consideration, she decided to take the bait. “I flew here with my best friend and the freshly thawed Uncle Sam wannabe to kick your ass. Your ass has been kicked. Now I’m just waiting to go home and fill out a shit ton of paperwork. Why, you wanna get drinks?”

"With a beautiful woman like you, why, I would love to," he said with a smirk as he turned his head to look at her. "But that is not what I meant. Why are you  _ here _ ? There were plenty of men who could have escorted me to be handed over. There are plenty of other ways to deliver me as well. But you specifically chose to send me down this elevator with the weapon I brought along from out of space within the same vicinity, are you a genius or are you that foolish?"

Natasha steeled herself as she listened to him speak. She wasn’t going to give him the answer he wanted. That would just lead to more personal conversation, and that was not something she particularly wanted to have right now. But to be completely honest, she knew the answer to his question before he ever finished it, and it was one that she had been trying to ignore for days. Once they had gotten Clint back, and she had the time to reflect on all that had happened, she realized it.

And she hated it.

She was intrigued by him. The two were more alike than she would ever go as far as to admit. Or at least she could be like him, and she certainly had been at one point. To be at the center of a giant web, able to pluck each strand and make those around her dance. It had been a skill she had developed ages ago. The two both held such command over those around them, whether they realized it or not. The moment someone would come into contact with them, they had already surrendered everything the other two would need to take that person down. Loki didn’t need that army to invade New York. He easily could have done it himself, and after spending one minute with him, she knew that.

It was to prove a point most likely, or to inflate his ego. She couldn’t quite choose which one yet. Had he wanted to, the entirety of the Avengers could have been under his control after coming through that portal. And yet, he only chose to take Clint and the Tesseract. It didn’t make sense to her, but there were much bigger issues at hand, and it was more important to save New York and ultimately all of Earth at the time, than to wonder why he was being such a diva. But now, sitting with him, she knew it. She was intrigued by him. 

Nat paused for a moment, shifting a bit with her arms crossed over her chest. She didn’t answer his question, instead posing another one to him. “Why did you use the Chitauri army to invade New York? You easily could have just used this,” she nodded to the scepter, “on a few choice people, and the world would have been at your knees.”

"Oh but for what than to prove a point?" He said, very well giving the answer that she had been contemplating upon since forever. "But you knew that already. I know you knew. You figured it out long before the others have, just because you were so good at interrogating. All those years have made you a fine spy after all."

He looked to the door this time, his bound hands resting on his lap as he sits with his back leaning onto the wall behind him. He let himself go deep in thought, so much was going on in his mind. Natasha was smart enough to figure out that Loki had come here with an army to do something that was not taking over the world, he found no reason to dance around it.

"Your world is in peril, and you would trade it all for one man," he smirks. "Come one day, you will realise how small that thought would be. And that would be the day where all would turn right overhead."

As soon as he mentioned Clint, Natasha scoffed a bit as her lips quirked to the side. “You still don’t get it, do you?” Of course she was lying, but he didn’t need to know that. “All I was doing was trying to figure out your play. Me being ‘vulnerable’ about Agent Barton made you feel like you had the upper hand. That’s all it was.” Her head tilted, and she looked down at him. “Feel like you have the upper hand now?” The faster she changed the subject, the better. 

"Am I bound and gagged to be delivered back out of your world? Sure," Loki said. "I have been around for longer than perhaps your great grandfather if he were to still be around, I will be around for longer. This is but a small page in my tome of life. Will you do me a favour, though?"

Natasha wanted to correct him when he mentioned how old he assumed her grandfather to be, but that seemed unimportant when he asked her for a favor. Her head tilted once more, and she hesitantly replied. “That depends. What’s the favor?”

"It is getting a little warm, will you mind scratching my back for me?" He asks. "I would do it myself but my hands are bound and you don't trust me enough to scratch my own back."

The redhead glared down at him, exhaling sharply as she let out all the tension she had held in her body as she waited for a response. Not to be too cliche, but it felt as if that was the perfect one liner before a duplicate Loki pounced on her or something. She’d been watching too many Bond movies with Clint. Natasha simply shook her head and rested her head back against the cool wall. “No, I’m good.”

Loki pouted a little, sulky from her refusing to touch him. So instead he started to loosen up the flaps of his overcoat. "Is it me or is it getting warm in here?"

He didn't even finish his sentence when the lights switched off and the sound of the elevator powering down could be heard. He looked to her in just as much of a surprise as she had on her face. At least they were still in one place.

She felt herself turn cold, but it was definitely not because of a surplus of air conditioning. What the hell was going on in this elevator? Her eyes flickered up to the ceiling which she could barely see. Once she realized how difficult it was to make out the edges of the box, her eyes immediately darted back down to look at Loki. The last thing she needed to do was lose sight of him. The only light in the room was a faint blue glow that was coming from the scepter, and if anything, it was only illuminating the smothered look of fear on her face, not the rest of her surroundings. 

"I didn't do this," he said, shrugging his shoulders up a little and then looking back to his feet as he wriggled them a little. She was in fear and he could feel it. She was in absolute fear of losing sight of him, or the scepter, or losing her footing and her life if the elevator falls. Maybe Loki meant to put those fears in her, maybe he did not. It didn't matter now, did it?

Natasha scoffed, shaking her head in lieu of saying anything, as if she didn’t believe him. If this wasn’t his doing, why hadn’t no one come and gotten them yet? She’d been taught a long time ago how to keep accurate track of how much time has passed in tense situations such as this one. It was crucial if she ever found herself injured and alone or if she had ever been captured. It had been just over twenty minutes that they had been stuck in this elevator together. Someone had to realize they hadn’t come back down yet. Even if they didn’t miss her, they had to know that someone had lost track of Loki. 

"Why don't you sit down? I promise I won't hurt you," Loki said, shifting a little as if to make more space for her. "My hands are bound, you could easily suffocate me with your legs while you text someone casually I have no doubt of that. Besides, what would I ever want to hurt you for now?"

That did make her laugh. Nat shook her head one more time and shifted the scepter a bit to shed some more light on him. “No offense, Loki, but I trust your word about as much as I trust Stark to not be eating a cheeseburger right now while Pepper yells at him for going into space.” Natasha watched as he made room for her on the ground. He wasn’t wrong. If she wanted to, she could definitely kill him, but similarly, if he wanted to, he could most certainly kill her. His last question caught her attention, though, and she paused, raising an eyebrow. “Why  _ would _ you want to hurt me?” It was an interesting enough topic, one that definitely involved her, and one that he had elected to bring up. “You seemed motivated enough on the helicarrier to do so.”

"That was merely part of the plan, in which you were the pawn and I was the game master. Right now, I'm just a player on a break," he said. "We both are. Unless of course you decide it would be better for us both if you just took this chance and tried to kill me. Then we both know how that would end."

“And how’s that?” Her brows raised as the right corner of her lip curled upwards. God, this all felt too familiar. 

Instead of answering, Loki merely smiled to her. His lips were pressed in a straight line, curling up at the ends. The dim blue light wasn't really helping his case on looking any nicer.

Natasha felt chills run down her spine as her smirk gradually faltered. She wanted to look away, but she couldn’t. She had to keep watching him. She took in a long calm breath and simply kept her eyes trained on him. “I don’t suppose you have a magic trick that will give us some light, do you?”

"Hands bound, no magic allowed," he shrugs and then looked to her. The glint in his eyes told her that he obviously was lying. He would want her to ask again  no way would he do as she asks without so much of a second request. "Thor would exhume me."

Her eyes narrowed down at him. “‘No magic allowed’ as in you shouldn’t, or ‘no magic allowed’ as in you  _ can’t _ ?” She saw the look in his eyes, but it was difficult to tell what it meant, given the lack of light in the room. She could barely see his face, or the rest of him for that matter, and she hated it. 

"I could, if you just said please," he said with a smile. "Or we could sit here in the dark and wait for someone to rescue us. Just the both of us. In the dark."

Natasha wasn’t scared of the dark, not by a long shot. It was the things in the dark that terrified her. If he was still able to do magic, there was a whole list of possible scary things she might have to deal with, starting with… Against her better judgement, Natasha turned her back to him for a split second and pressed her fingers against the wall in front of her, feeling for the elevator. She then ran her fingers over the button panel. They all  _ felt  _ real. They were definitely in an elevator. But beyond that, she couldn’t confirm anything. Her jaw clenched and she turned back to him. “I’m not saying please.”

"Are you getting nervous? Hopefully not," Loki said, despite not being able to see her. He could feel her aura changing somehow. It was one thing to trick him from outside the glass wall, it was another to face him right here in person. "If you just pick up the scepter, you could power up the elevator enough to light it up. Not sure if it would make it move though. I'm not averse to try." 

Nervous was an understatement. She gave him a look that relayed she was over his bullshit, but then she looked at the scepter in her hand for a moment. She hadn’t thought about that, and honestly, she didn’t really want to. But she was curious. “Not saying that I would, but how does one even use this thing?”

"Hold it in your hand, tell it what to do," he said, then stretched out his hand towards her. "I could show you if you'd like." 

“Ha.” She let out a short scoff when he held his hand out for the scepter. Nat shook her head and pulled it closer to her. She studied it for a moment. It was getting hot in here. But she’d been through worse, and as far as she knew, this thing could kill her if she tried to use it. “How do I know it won’t ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ me?” 

He raised an eyebrow at her, the reference lost on him. "I'm guessing that would mean that the scepter would backfire and harm you instead? Of course, if you are confused, that could easily happen. But I shall just have to remind you… it is getting stuffy in here." 

“What, frost giants not do well in heat or something?” Natasha shook her head. She wasn’t going to use the scepter, but it was getting hot in here, and she was in leather. So she compromised, finally letting herself sit down on the ground. She laid the scepter across her lap but kept both hands around it so that she could use it in a moment’s notice. 

Loki refused to answer that, simply looking away and raising his hands to tug at his collars. He was beginning to sweat a little and it was causing a great deal of discomfort. "As if this junk of a realm is not already a ball of fire," he grumbled under his breath. 

Natasha actually laughed at that, leaning back against the cool metal. “What’s that?” 

He let out a grunt, evidently uncomfortable and beginning to get restless. "Just use the scepter, or you can hand it to me so I can. You know I will." 

“I do, and that’s exactly why I’m not giving it to you.” Her head tilted back down to watch him. He really wasn’t doing so hot. But no part of her felt any sort of pity for him. 

Loki took a deep breath, closed his eyes and rolled his shoulders back as he leaned back into the elevator walls once more. "Have you tried calling for help from your  _ friends _ ," he spat the end of that sentence, just to prove his spite.

Natasha raised an eyebrow, like a parent who just watches their kid throw a tantrum. He wasn’t going to annoy her into giving him the scepter. What kind of agent would she be if he could do that? “I did. You saw that. No service.”

"Well try again," he snaps, glaring back at her. "Tell me, Agent Romanoff. How long can you last without water and food? I can last a good long time. I wonder if you could too."

Natasha shook her head. “I don’t think I could last as long as you, but I can surely last longer than an hour.” She sighed softly and reached for her phone, turning it over in her hand one more time. Looking in the top corner of the screen, she saw that she was still out of reach, and she shrugged. “Nothing. I told you.” She stuffed it back into her pocket, wanting to save the battery in the event that something bad happened. “Trust me. Soon they’ll realize something happened, and someone will come get me—“ She smiled, mimicking him from earlier. “ _ Us _ .”

His eyes narrowed a little in disdain to what she said, then tugged at his collar again. It was so annoying, he thought. She could have easily gotten them out of there, but she was refusing to. There was a long moment of silence, or in actuality maybe only about three minutes of it as they both entertained their own thoughts while being very aware of the other's presence. Each movement made catches the eye. Natasha must really be nervous each time Loki raises his hand, and he does that to fix his coat, or to wipe a trickle of sweat, or to push his hair back.

"This is death-inducingly dull!" he finally exclaims. 

Natasha flinched slightly before calming herself, resting her head back against the wall behind her. This was anything but dull. Natasha was incredibly tense, and she wanted to get out of here more than anything. “Well…” She drawled, voice low as she spoke, “if you died, you wouldn’t have to worry about dying of heat.”

"Maybe if  _ you  _ died, we wouldn't both be melting into a puddle in a metal contraption that is suspended eighty feet in the air. Maybe that would be a better solution," he said, tugging at his collar once more and then shifting uncomfortably. As he shifts, the elevator moved with him.  

Nat’s eyes widened, not because of the threat but because of the elevator shifting. It suddenly occurred to her… “Hey, how much do you weigh exactly?” If he was anything like Thor, they were sitting dangerously close to their maximum capacity.

Loki looked to her and raised an offended eyebrow. It only took him a while after to realise she was actually worried he might take the elevator down with him if he moved a little more. So what did he do? He moved again. 

“Loki--” Her eyes quickly hardened as she held a hand out in his direction, motioning for him to stop. The box swayed, and she instinctively tightened her grip on the scepter while steeling her back against the wall. If they were going to free fall, she had to be ready. “Stop,” she managed through gritted teeth. 

He might as well laugh at that as he stops and finally leaned back into the wall. The elevator was swinging gently and he wore the biggest grin he could ever fetch with that disturbingly handsome face of his. "Oh come now, I am not so heavy to bring this whole contraption down. Has Thor ever taken this lift?" 

“Yes, but Thor isn’t a frost  _ giant. _ ” Natasha glared at him over the sound of the creaking gears above head. She looked up at the ceiling and thought for a moment. Ideally, they could climb out of the ceiling and take the ladder up, but she didn’t feel like keeping track of both the scepter and him while attempting that. As they swayed, she turned to look down at him sharply, angling the scepter towards him. “Don’t make me use this on you.” 

He simply tilted his head back a little so the sharp end of the scepter did not touch his face, still a glint of mischief in his eyes and a playful smirk on his lips were playing. "Now that would be a first," he said as he looks at the scepter's point. 

She’d mostly been joking. And she had wanted to keep it as far from his reach as possible, but the elevator was small, and even tilting it towards him left them without much room. Nat pulled it away slowly, setting it back in her lap. She didn’t like the look on his face when she threatened him. It wasn’t very...threatened. The redhead simply shook her head and finally took her eyes off of him to look down at the object in her lap. She didn’t feel like it belonged there, and she certainly did not believe she should be wielding it, but someone had to take it. She just happened to be the one. “I guess you’re used to being the one on the other end, huh?” 

"As much as you would have been on the other end of a blade," he said with a smirk. If she knew, she knew. Otherwise, it would not be worth the effort even talking to her about it. "This… all of it. It is small, petty, compared to what there is out there. I've only given you a taste of what it might be. Not even Thor could imagine what I have seen out there. Tell me, Agent Romanoff. Do you kill because you want to, because you have to?" 

“Well I haven’t killed you yet,” she smiled dryly.

"And I have not killed you yet," he said, ending it with just a smirk. 

He was only stating the obvious. They both were. But she was curious. “Why haven’t you? I’m the only thing keeping this from you,” she nodded down to the scepter. “And once we get out of here, your brother is taking you to what I assume is a very unenjoyable end back on Asgard. We’re stopped here. No one would know where you went.” Natasha paused, tilting her head. “Why haven’t you?”

"Would you like me to?" He asks. It was like they were dancing around each other from one point to another, they knew where to go and what would tick the other but they still entertained each other with this. "You best be careful with that scepter, Agent Romanoff. It is the proof of technology you never knew existed."

Of course she didn’t want him to kill her, and he knew the answer to that as well, so why was he asking her that? Her mind spun as she tried to figure out all the reasons he could have for asking her before she finally settled on the fact that he was probably just trying to distract her. She was even more sure of this thought once he changed the subject to the scepter. Her brow furrowed, and she glanced down at it again. “How so?”

"Why don't you find out for yourself? Use it, get us out of here," he said as he nods to the panel near the elevator door.   
“I’m all right,” she shook her head. But she didn’t look away from the scepter. It didn’t make much sense to her. She had just chalked it up to magic, but as far as she knew, she didn’t possess any magical capabilities. And yet he was so convinced she could use it. How did that work? Natasha fell silent as she thought about this. How could a non-magical being wield a clearly magical scepter? Unless it wasn’t magic… What kind of technology was he talking about?

Loki pressed his lips into a line, annoyed by how stubborn she could get as well before simply leaning back into the wall and letting out a deep sigh. It was as if it wasn't enough that he was starting to burn up, she had to just refuse to do what needs to be done.

"Can you just get this thing moving already?" He groans aloud, then begins to shout loudly. "Get us out of here!"

That was certainly not what she was expecting. Whatever thoughtful trance she might have been in was rudely and abruptly interrupted when he started yelling. Natasha watched him, not quite terrified, but terribly confused. He was going insane, and they had only been in here for over an hour. Was the heat really that bad for him? Natasha didn’t care about his comfort in that she didn’t care if he was in pain or felt miserable, but if he was about to go crazy while the two of them were confined in such close quarters, that could be an issue. She needed to placate him before he decided to take matters into his own hands. “Hey!” She snapped, trying to get his attention. “If you really can still do magic, why don’t you… conjure up an ice cube or something?” She watched him, still shocked from his earlier outburst. 

"Conjure up an ice cube," he barks a laugh at her, taking another deep breath. "If I could conjure up an ice cube, I should most probably also simply conjure up something that could snap your neck. I could still do it with my hands bound, if you ever doubted it."

Now he just wasn’t making sense. Loki could be threatening if he wanted to, and he knew exactly how to scare the shit out of her, but this wasn’t it. He was really off of his game. Natasha sighed softly and dropped the snide act she’d kept up for the last hour. “This is really difficult on you, isn’t it?” Instead of searching for a solution to his problem, he was just spouting empty threats. She’d seen that before, plenty of times. And she knew exactly what it meant. He really was miserable right now, possibly even scared, or at least anxious. 

Loki let out a heavy breath and leaned back, deciding it was not worth the fight and he would only be using up energy he doesn't need to use in the first place. "I have been to hotter places, and I am going to places with a lot less comfort. So excuse me if I am not exactly acting too convenient for you right now."

Plenty of things were on his mind though, that bit was true. Before he fell off the bifrost, all he had ever thought about was how his whole entire life had been a lie. Then he fell for eons for what it seemed like, only to be pulled out of it by a villain far greater than him. From then on, he realises that he was merely a pawn in this game that he had no control over. It was disgusting to even think about. And as always, nobody cared enough to ask what the problem really was. So yes, to answer Natasha's question, it really was difficult for him. 

That wasn’t quite the answer she was expecting, but when had he ever given her a straight answer? Natasha sighed sharply and set the scepter down on the ground behind her. She leaned forward and kneeled down in front of him, on her knees. “Don’t you try anything.” Without looking him in the eye, Natasha pulled back the heavy leather cloak he was wearing, as much as she could, and rolled it back, pushing it as far down his arms as she could with the cuffs still on his hands. 

He had half expected her to just sock him in the face in an attempt to break his face but he was not ready when she tugged at his clothes. He didn't pull away when she pulled down his overcoat and had it over his upper arms. It was enough to relieve his neck from the heat and it was actually helping him a lot.

"Agent Romanoff," he spoke, his tone scandalizing. "At least buy me dinner first."

Her knee-jerk reaction was to send some scathing remark back at him, but that was what he wanted, and she didn’t feel like making him  _ that  _ happy. She’d helped him cool off. That was enough. “Well I asked you to drinks, already, so..” Natasha pulled a hair tie off of her wrist and pulled his head forward a bit, quickly doing his hair up in a messy top bun on his head. That would have to do for now. She wasn’t about to take his pants off. If they were going to be in here for a while, they’d have to pace themselves. Satisfied, she sat back down in her spot and put the scepter back in her lap. 

"I will have to take a rain check on that drink, perhaps when we get out of here. I would like to show you what real drinks are like. I hear your drinks are sweet here," he said, narrowing his eyes not out of spite but simply out of curiosity. He wouldn't just admit that putting his glorious hair up in a bun had just helped him cool down so much faster.

“Yea, well,” she laughed tiredly, pulling her own hair back, “I don’t get drunk anyways, sweet or not sweet.” Natasha paused for a moment. Maybe she shouldn’t have said that. Well, it didn’t really matter that much. Clint may have told him for all she knew. Nat inwardly shrugged and continued to work the ponytail. Who cares if he knew what she was? She wasn’t ever going to see him again anyways. 

"So I have heard," he said with a smirk. "I would love to give you a taste of Asgardian mead. You should know that it is so much stronger, so much more potent than your petty Midgardian ones. I daresay satisfaction is absolutely guaranteed. It will make you forget all others you might have had before."

She scoffed and raised an eyebrow as she listened to him. “Are you talking about liquor or about sex?”

"Would you like to find out?" He grins, winking to her as she glares at him.

Natasha continued to glare. But then she smiled and tilted her head. “If we’re talking Asgard, then I have nothing to worry about with you.” She didn’t know everything about Loki, but she’d done as much research as possible, and had tried to ask Thor as many questions as she could without being annoying. No one took her best friend and got away without Natasha doing extensive background research. “So drinks it is.”

"Your word is worth more than your life, I'll take it," he said. He liked binding people to their word. Much contrary to popular belief, Loki tells the truth more often than not, most times people just choose not to believe him and other times he was only not telling the whole truth. Besides, it was all subjective. 

Nat’s head snapped up ever so slightly to look at him. She’d been joking. Natasha never wanted to see Loki again, much less have cordial conversation with him over drinks. Her eyes narrowed a bit, but she said nothing. She couldn’t really tell if he was serious or not, so she didn’t say anything, not wanting to get herself further into a promise of anything with him. 

Loki grinned again and then looked up at the ceiling of the elevator. He huffed a sigh, wiping his sweat off his brow and then flicking it across. He watched as it flew over his boots, then entertained himself with kicking his boots together. It made a constant thudding sound, which prompted him to make more noises with his mouth. 

He was just trying to annoy her. He’s just trying to be annoying. She kept repeating it to herself in her head as he continued to make random sounds. She didn’t have to react, nor should she. If she just ignored him, he would stop. Against her better judgement, Natasha held the scepter in both hands and let her eyes fall closed, leaning back against the wall for a moment. She needed to think. It was nearing two hours. Something needed to happen. 

"Something happen now!" He suddenly exclaims again. He couldn't stand the silence, honestly. He needed the sound and he needed to know he was not absolutely alone. Then he turned to her and gasps softly. "Oh, I'm sorry. Were you falling asleep? You must think of this place as a therapeutic contraption. Is it nice? Do you need to turn up the heat a little more?" 

“Are you claustrophobic?” She asked him bluntly, without opening her eyes. Sure, his outburst had scared her, but she could tell that he was still seated across from her, and that was all that mattered. It didn’t make sense to her why he was freaking out so much, wavering from snide banter to borderline panic in an instant. Clearly there was something going on. 

"What even is that supposed to mean?" He asks, furrowing his brows at her as she watches her. She seemed to be calm and collected right now, but he knew she was just as panicky as he was. Or at least, he hoped she was. He couldn't possibly be the only one so upset about this situation.

“It means tight spaces make you anxious.” She really wasn’t that panicked. He was the scariest thing about this whole situation. She had no idea what he might do at any moment, and he’d already promised to kill her once. That was what was scary, not the fact that the elevator was down. 

"I meant you," he said. "What do  _ you  _ mean when you ask me that question? Does it bother you if I am anxious? Do you want me to be anxious? Would you like to see what I could do even when cuffed and trapped?" 

“Loki, stop.” She opened her eyes and looked up at him. “You’re obviously panicking right now, but I don’t know if or how I can help you if you don’t give me something to work with, or at least stop threatening me.” It really was starting to get warm though, and she was starting to wonder if people were actually coming. How could two hours go by without anyone noticing Loki and the scepter were gone? “You can’t freak out because…” She didn’t really have a good answer. “Well, I don’t want you to. That’s not helpful.”

"We could really just get out of here if you use the scepter. Or maybe just uncuff me," he said. "What are you afraid of? You have the scepter, you can take me down anytime. Just do something."

She could hear what he was saying, but it wasn’t quite clicking in her mind. Natasha shook her head. Now he was bargaining again. “One minute you want to kill me, so I should keep you cuffed. The next, you’re flirting with me. Then, you’re asking me to uncuff you because you’re suddenly calm and reasonab-“ Mid sentence, she yawned, her eyes going a little red and watering as she did so. That was weird. Well.. it wasn’t super weird. She’d just fought an alien army and worked her way to closing a portal into space. She had reason to be tired. But now it was suddenly hitting her. Or something was. 

"Are you yawning?" He asks, both curious and offended at her little gesture of reflex or some sort. She seemed tired.

“Yea, I guess. I don’t know.” She shook her head and scratched the back of her neck. 

He frowned and then looked up at the ceiling. Loki didn't need much oxygen to survive, he lives in space. The lack of oxygen must be knocking her out, for whatever reason there was. "Hey," he nudges her with his foot. "Open your eyes. Keep them on me. I'm going to take the scepter from you if you fall asleep."

“‘I’m going to take the scepter from you if you fall asleep,’” she mimicked him, groaning slightly as she opened her eyes. He had a point though. Natasha adjusted herself and tried to sit up a little, clearing her throat. She forced her eyes open and watched Loki. She wasn’t  _ that  _ tired, just a little sleepy from battle. That’s all it was. 

Loki looked up again at the panel overhead. That looks flimsy and could easily come off with a good kick or something. "Hey, get up."

He got up to his feet and kicked her again, trying to get her to wake but she seemed exhausted. It was unlike her to be so tired with him around. He knew that. So Loki shifted until his coat was back up his shoulder, it would be easier to move when his clothes were trapping him down. "I can reach the panel if I jump," he thought aloud.

Natasha took in a deep breath and looked up where he was looking. The ceiling? Then it clicked. Oxygen. Of course. That’s why she was tired. As realization dawned on her, she mumbled a low “fuck…” and scrambled to her feet. Standing, she remembered how much shorter than him she was and wondered why she was even standing in the first place. She wasn’t going to be much help in the height department. But then she got an idea. “Or you could put me on your shoulders.”

"I could boost you up instead," he said, looking at her incredulously. He went to one knee facing the wall, his hands on his knee for her to get up there.

She didn’t like that idea very much. If she was seated on his shoulders, he couldn’t let go of her and reach for the scepter. This way, if he tried, she was already on top of him and could easily knock him out with her thighs. “I think sitting on your shoulders is fine,” she shot back, smiling. 

"Fine, whatever," he said, rolling his eyes and keeping his position. He was going to stay that way until she climbs on. He doesn't like the idea very much either.

Natasha stood behind him and held on to the wall in front of them both as she climbed onto his shoulders from behind his back. Once she was situated, she held the top of his head and nodded. “All right. I’m good.”

As if it were not annoying enough that she was on his shoulders, she was holding onto his head for support. He then got up and stood upright, just holding onto her knee because it was all his bound hands were allowing him to do. "Can you get the panel?"

“I think so.” As soon as she was up, she felt cool air—or,  _ cooler  _ air. It wasn’t quite cold, but it was definitely new air. The power cutting out must have cut the vents, so all the fresh air was just hovering above the box. She hooked her legs back to steady herself and reached up with both arms, using one hand to hold herself in place and the other to thrust upward against the plate. It budged. “Oh thank god.” She tried one more time, with more force, and the plate flew backwards, popping off the top. Natasha closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. That was much better. 

"Great. Now get off," Loki said without much of a break time for her. She had the fresh air she needed, now he needs his shoulders back.

Natasha rolled her eyes. No rest for the irritable apparently. In one clean motion, she swung a leg around and glided down his back like it was a slide. When she landed, she bent down to pick the scepter back up and turned to face him again. She leaned on the scepter for a moment and just stood there, breathing in the air slowly. She paused for a moment and looked up at him. Should she be thanking him? Was that worthy of a thank you? Nat stayed quiet for a moment before nodding. “Thanks.”

Loki finally got back to the ground, sitting down and looking up at the open panel. It was just a gaping hole now. "Do you think you can get out of here? From there?"

“Yes,” she nodded, “but I have two hands and a scepter. You don’t. I could easily come get you. So I wouldn’t recommend it.”

"Why are you so intent on staying right here? Do you have something against free will?" He asks, frowning at her.

“Do you really want to climb down with no hands?” Natasha raised an eyebrow and shook her head, finally sitting back down. “I also don’t trust you one bit and will not be taking those off of you to climb up or down a floor.” She pulled her phone back out and looked at the time. It was getting late. It’d be getting dark soon.

“Goddamnit…” she mumbled under her breath. She needed to come up with  _ some  _ sort of plan. 

"I've done so much more with so much less," he scoffs and then glances to her phone with an eyebrow raised. "No help just yet it seems?"

“I was just checking the time…” Her voice trailed off and she sighed, putting her phone away. “It’s getting late.” Natasha wasn’t scared they wouldn’t be found, or she  _ hadn’t  _ been. But it was almost three hours now, and no one had come. It made no sense to Natasha why no one had come.  _ Loki  _ and the  _ scepter  _ were missing. How the hell had no one come? “By the time they realize we’re missing, they must have to check each floor…” She stared at nothing in particular then looked down at the light blue glow coming from her lap. 

"How long does it usually take for your fellow friends to notice that  _ you _ are missing, Agent Romanoff?" He asks, raising an eyebrow. All the while, they had been banking on the fact that everyone would notice if Loki and the scepter were to go missing. But really, if they removed Loki from the picture… would the team still have noticed that Natasha was nowhere to be found?

Natasha said nothing. Really, none of them had worked together before. She wasn’t that offended that Steve or Tony hadn’t realized she was gone. She barely even knew Thor, and Bruce probably wanted to get as far away from the scene as possible. But Clint… Clint should at least have noticed she was gone. Her jaw just clenched slightly as she stared down at the scepter. Nat shook her head. “Before you think you’ve got one over on me, realize that until today, ‘team’ was not even a word that could have been applied to us.”

"Oh I know the feeling, trust me, I really do," he said with a soft chuckle, looking to her with a little smirk. It wasn't out of mischief or any of that sort, it was just as if he really meant what he said. "It must be tough, isn't it? To be the only one here who is not powered. Apart from Barton of course, your dear friend. But then again, he is the reason why you're even here isn't it?"

‘Not powered.’ Natasha scoffed softly to herself and shook her head. “I’m curious. What all did Clint tell you?” There was no way he’d told Loki everything about Natasha. There wasn’t time. And clearly, if he was calling her ‘not powered,’ Clint had left out a few things, but she wasn’t surprised. Based off Loki’s earlier comment about her grandfather, he had no idea just how old she was. 

"He didn't have to tell me much, only what I needed to know. Apart from that, there was nothing I would have needed to know everything about you for," he said. "He did mention you are older than you look like you were, I should just have you know that… I am still older than your grandfather."

Loki gave a smirk, it wasn't like he even should care what she thinks about him. But for some reason, it felt like he was gloating too much and it was pretty much about what she thinks. Or what she was thinking of.

“Well of course you are. You’re a god. But that’s not what I’m asking.” She shook her head and just watched him. Part of her wanted to think that Clint hadn’t told him anything, and that he’d just been bluffing, but there were too many things that he’d mentioned by name to not have been told. Unless… “Did he actually tell you about me or did you just read about me?” Her head tilted back up and she watched him. 

"How do you think I ever got the information in the first place?" He asks, raising an eyebrow at her with a smirk. She could be in denial for however long she wanted to be, but it was truth she could not deny. 

He wasn’t answering her question. But she wasn’t surprised. Annoyed, Natasha just shook her head and went quiet. No need to bark up that tree. He’d be miserable soon enough. “He say anything else interesting about me I’d like to hear? Compliments maybe?” Nat flashed him a dry grin and tilted her head back. 

"He said you had chalked up the skills to be an exceptional lover in bed," he said as he looked back up at the panel. It didn't matter what she was saying anyway, he was only thinking of how to get out of here.

Natasha rolled her eyes and just looked away from him. She had no way of knowing if he was telling the truth or not. But it wouldn’t have been a hard thing to infer. From what few things she knew Clint had told Loki, it wouldn’t have been hard to figure out at all. But she was sure he was just trying to get a rise out of her, so she said nothing. 

Their silence was interrupted by a sudden volley of vibrations coming from her phone at her hip. She flinched and reached for her phone. 28 texts. Holy shit. She looked up at the hole in the ceiling. That must have boosted her signal. Natasha stood and began to scan the messages. Most were from Clint, with a handful from Steve and Tony. “Shit.”

"Worse than being stuck here?" Loki still had his eyes staring straight out into the darkness of what was above the elevator. He was deep in thought, but he was also trying to stay grounded right here.

“No, no, it’s…” suddenly, her phone rang and she quickly scrambled to pick it up, almost fumbling and missing the button. She quickly brought it to her face and nodded. “Yes. Yes, it’s me.” Nat looked at Loki, wide eyed. “Yea, we’re in the elevator. Yea, he’s still here. Yes. I have the scepter.” Natasha sighed heavily and slumped back against the wall, listening. She shook her head. “I don’t know what floor we’re on. The power shut off.”

Loki looked over, wondering if they would finally get out of there. He was still annoyed if he could be honest. "Will you let them know to hasten up? The party has long since been over."

She shot him a quick glare before going back and listening to Clint on the phone. “I’d say we’re about halfway down. We were in the elevator for a while before it broke down.” Natasha waited for a moment, listening. “No I don’t have any of my equipment,” she laughed dryly, “just my suit. No offense, Clint, but if I could get us out of here, don’t you think I’d try? He’s the  _ last  _ person I’d want to be stuck in an elevator with.”

"I resent that," Loki said blankly, still staring at her as she spoke. At least now, someone would be coming to help them out of there. It wasn't like she didn't have the choice anyway, she just refused to do it.

“I resent you,” she shot back just as blankly. But then she turned back to her phone, reacting to something Clint had clearly said on the other line that had apparently caught her attention. “Absolutely not.” Natasha shook her head. “Clint, you of all people should know what it can--” Her jaw set ever so slightly and she closed her eyes. “How long would it be if I can’t get the power starting?” It was a number she was obviously not thrilled about because she opened her eyes and frowned, groaning softly. “I don’t like it.”

Loki narrowed his eyes at her and then smirked. He had a fair idea of what was happening. "I could bring the elevator down faster than they could get to us," he calls out in a sing song way.

Natasha scoffed and directed a pointed stare at Loki. “I am  _ not  _ giving the scepter to you.” Her lips pressed into a fine line and she looked at the weapon in her hand. They had been in here for hours, and it was still glowing. Loki was right. This thing was something more than she had any sort of frame of reference for. She paused for a moment then turned her attention back to Clint, lowering her voice and turning away from Loki. “Do you really trust this? Trust  _ me _ ?” She stayed quiet for a moment and hung her head, pressing her forehead against the cool metal. “I’ll get us to a floor, and we’ll get out. I’ll tell you where. Okay?”

Loki sighed and moved forward, staring at Natasha. "Do what needs to be done and get it over with. If your dear friends do not come in time, I know not what might happen."

Nat turned to look at him, whipping around with such speed and force that she might as well have growled at him, but she didn’t. Instead, she lifted the scepter, pointing it precariously close to his chin and tilting it up. “They’re coming, and I’m doing this. Back up, and shut your mouth, or I will shut it for you.” She was scared. That’s all it was. Natasha had no desire to use this thing if she didn’t have to, but it would take hours for them to find out which floor the two were on, and she hated being stuck in here with him and with the scepter. Her jaw clenched and she turned back to the panel with all of the buttons, taking in a deep breath and tightening her grip around the handle. She swallowed dryly and just stared. Was there a magic word or something?

"Are you going to do it today?" He asks sarcastically as he watches her. She was obviously hesitant and afraid, he wasn't going to let that get in the way of their escape to safety.

“I hate you so much…” she mumbled softly before closing her eyes and pressing it to the metal wall with a light clink. Natasha quietly drew in a long breath, centering herself and doing her best to not focus on the anger she was feeling as she did her best to ‘will’ the scepter into doing its job. Her eyes stayed closed until she heard a low whir and felt light on her eyelids. She blinked them open and tilted her head up. “It worked..”

"I cannot believe you ever doubted it," he smirked as he watched her look around in her own version of awe. 

Loki knew that the scepter was a source of energy, it was just different though the way she handled it. Part of him had hoped it would fail so that he could give it a try, but this isn't too bad either. Going forth, he reached for the buttons but was soon met with the threatening edge of the blade directed towards him. "Fine, press your own buttons."

He retreated from that spot and leaned back into the wall, taking a deep breath and sighing. Then Loki looked up at the hollow spot in the ceiling, humming in thought. "How mad would Stark be to know I tore apart his building in more ways than one? Even his elevator…"

“All right, that’s enough.” Natasha reached back into her side pocket and pulled out the muzzle, slapping it back on before he could say much more. “I’m tired of listening to you.” She sighed, satisfied and turned back to face forward, pressing a random button that she assumed was close to where they were. Her whole body was trembling, but she tried to ignore it. Soon, she could hand it--and him--off to someone else much more capable than her. 

After a few floors, the elevator stopped and the doors opened. With the scepter in one hand and the center of Loki’s chains in the other, she dragged him out of the elevator and held him fast as she turned back to see what floor they were on. She let go of Loki just long enough to give him a stern look and pull out her phone, dialing Clint’s number again. “I will zap you with this thing if you run. Trust me. It would only be poetic. And I would  _ very much  _ enjoy it.” Nat waited and nodded when Clint picked up. “Hey, yea, we’re on the thirty-fifth floor. Make sure you bring back up. Thor would be awesome.”

The moment the gag was back on his face, Loki did nothing but scowl bitterly at her with narrowed eyes. He only followed as they got stuck at the thirty-fifth floor. It didn't take long after that for someone to come and get them. The scepter was soon out of his sight as it was passed to someone else, the cube must have also gone with them.

As soon as the two familiar faces had rounded the corner, all of the tension left Natasha’s body. Without running, she made her way over to Clint as quickly as possible. The look on his face was unmistakable. He had been worried sick about her. Once she made it into his arms, her grasp on Loki loosened, and Thor quickly took over. Clint’s strong arms wrapped around her and held her close while one of her hands was still grasping the scepter tightly. She didn’t realize how much she had been shaking until he pulled his head away ever so slightly to look down at her. “Hey, hey, you’re okay. You’re out.”

She wasn’t sure if it was her using the scepter or the prospect of being locked in a god who had just given her such a harrowing threat just hours earlier that was causing her to not be able to stop trembling, but whatever it was, she was here with Clint, and neither of them were brainwashed or fighting the other, so things were going to be okay. Nat nodded quickly up to Clint and offered him her best smile. “Yea, yea, I’m good. I’m good.” She nodded again then looked over Clint’s shoulder behind him to see Thor dragging Loki off to God knows where. Her jaw tensed a bit when he looked back over his shoulder and made eye contact with her, sending a shiver down her spine. She almost didn’t hear Clint when he asked her a question.

“What happened in there? You look spooked.”

Natasha tore her gaze from the god and looked back to Clint, staring into his eyes for a moment as she just thought back to everything that had happened in those last three hours. She forced the fear out of her eyes and instead put on a brave smile, tilting her head. It was over. She didn’t have to be scared. “I’ll tell you over drinks?”

He knew her well enough to know that she was just changing the subject, but he also knew that she would tell him when she was ready, so he just nodded, shifting to wrap his arm around her waist as he turned to walk with her down the hall, to the  _ stairs.  _ “Let’s get that scepter into the right hands, and then we can talk about those drinks. I know Stark was talking about getting something called shawarma? You heard of it?”

  
  


… 

Loki was later handed over to Thor to be delivered back to Asgard. It was hardly a great trip there really, they couldn't just open a portal here on the tower because of all the destruction. The trickster God needn't say much when the others simply talked about him, all he had to do was scowl at them. Sure, let them laugh. They all have no idea what was coming for them after all.

 


End file.
